Substances and compositions pertaining to different classes of chemical compounds which impart flame-resistant and antimicrobial properties to fibrous materials are known in the art. This is effected by impregnation of these materials with aqueous solutions of said compounds or their solutions in organic solvents.
The fibrous materials can be also treated by dispersions of biologically active and fire-proofing compositions (cf. Japanese Pat. No. 41476, published 1968).
As the biologically active components use can be made of:
(1) salts of metals and organometallic compounds such as salts of zinc e.g. chloride, sulphate, acetate and the like (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 3,079,213 published 1963; British Pat. No. 916,665 published 1963; French Pat. No. 1,223,061 published 1960);
(2) derivatives of phenols and salicylic acid such as pentachlorophenol (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 2,698,301 published 1954; U.S. Pat. No. 3,346,575 published 1965); hexachlorophene with different substituents (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 2,359,986 published 1951, U.S. Pat. No. 2,574,319 published 1951); salicylic acid amides (cf. British Pat. No. 955,925 published 1964);
(3) salts of quaternary ammonium bases of a different structure such as laurylpyridinium chloride, methylpyridinium chloride and the like (cf. D. Galjardi, Am. Dyestuff Reporter, vol. 51, 2, February 1962, p. 31);
(4) organic compounds having a complex chemical composition such as antibiotics, dyestuffs (N. A. Krasil'nikov, R. A. Zhukov, B. B. Yashin, Microbiologija 29, 3, 446 (1960); French Pat. No. 1,182,455 published 1958; USSR Inventor's Certificate No. 273,353. Int. Cl. C 09 b 57/00, 22a 2, published 1968 and No. 401,169, Int. Cl. C 09 b 39/00, published 1973).
The effect of flame-resistance imparted to textile materials (wool and cellulose fabrics) is ensured through the treatment thereof with different organic and inorganic compounds of, for example, phosphorus, titanium, zirconium, halogen-containing phenol derivatives and the like.
The data relative to the improvement of flame-resistance of fibrous protein materials are more scarce than those relative to cellulose.
Processes for imparting flame-resistant properties to wool fabrics are known which comprise treatment thereof with phosphorus-containing compounds (Textil praxis No. 4, April 1972 (Stuttgart), Dr. U. Einsele "Uber die Flamefestausrustung VOu Textilien"), for example, with a composition of phosphoric acid with urea or a mixture of tetrakis hydroxymethylphosphonium chloride of the formula: ##STR2## with melamine ("Proban" process), followed by drying and heat-treatment. With the use of the composition based on phosphoric acid, the effect of flame-resistance is not retained after laundering and, furthermore, the fabric colour is frequently varied. In the case of application of a mixture of phosphorus-containing compounds with melamine the touch of wool fabrics is impaired, they become rigid. The "Proban" process is also complicated as regards the technology and equipment employed.
For fire-proofing treatment use is also made of potassium fluorozirconate in acidic medium; however, since for these purposes high concentrations of the agent are required (at least 10% by weight of the fabric), this method of treatment is economically inefficient. Furthermore, the preparation cannot be used for half-wool fabrics with inclusion of synthetic fibres melting at a temperature approaching 100.degree. C.
As it is known from the literature, one of the most effective processes for imparting flame-resistance to wool fibre resides in the treatment with chlorendic anhydride in the presence of dimethylformamide (Textile Colorist, No. 5, May, 1973; R. Whitfield, W. Frudman "Chemical Modification of Wool with Chlorendic Anhydride and Related Chloro-Organic Acid Anhydrides", pp. 76-78).
However, the use of this fire-proofing component makes the process unsuitable for commercial implementation, since it is incompatible with conventional finishing operations, and necessitates the use of sophisticated equipment adapted for operation with solvents. Also known in the art is a method for fire-proofing treatment by chlorendic acid after the process of dyeing at a pH of the solution of 2-3 (Textile Research Journal No. 7, June 1974, M. Friedman, J. F. Ash W. Fong "Dyebath Application of Chlorendic Acid for Flame-Resistant Wool", pp. 555-556).
The conditions of such treatment necessary for the use of such flame-resistant preparation and the subsequent carrying-out of two processes (dyeing and fire-proofing) causes weakening of the fibrous material and complication of the process scheme.
In the paper by L. Segal et al. (Textile Research Journal, vol. 44, No. 10, November 1974, New Orleans, La. S.A., and L. Segal et. al. "The Effect of Dyes on the Flammability of Cotton Fabric", p. 839) there are shown the data illustrating the effect of acid dyestuffs on aminized cotton. It is also shown that the decrease in flammability is observed for the majority of the tested acidic dyestuffs.
In the literature there is lack of data on simultaneously imparting flame-resistance and bio-resistance properties to textile materials by dyeing the material with special dyestuffs. There is indication of the opportunity of simultaneous imparting of flame-resistance and bio-protection properties to cellulose by way of treating with chloro-N-dimethylformiminium chloride (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,631 published 1975).